Submitted by David Miller
Trouble comes
in all forms - family problems, financial problems, emotional stress or
personal illness, just to name a few. Sometimes it seems like an onslaught of
bad situations and other times it is little things that happen every now and
then. Troubles are what we call them, but God calls them trials and
testings.
May I pass on
some good news? God is not sitting in the heavens saying, “How can I send chaos
on My children today?” No way! He is the One who will make a way of escape. He
is our Deliverer and our Rescuer.
I have several
friends who are really going through major trials: addictions, separation,
possible divorce, and one couple just recently almost lost their child to a car
accident. All of these people know,
love, serve, and trust God; so what is going on? How do we all survive when
troubles come our way? The answer is always in prayer and reading God’s
Word.
The mind can
mentally assess the difficulties and sort them out, but the heart can’t
cope. I once was told that, “It is hard
to wrap your heart around trouble when it pierces your soul.” What a profound statement! It is one of those
statements that you want to tape to a mirror or to your refrigerator. I want it
to get down into my spirit. We are not
to cope with our troubles; we are to give them to God. If you cope, you hang on to it. If you give
it to God, you can let it go. Look at
how Peter puts it. “Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own
estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you,
casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your
concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and
cares about you watchfully” (1 Peter 5:6-7, Amplified).
I am glad that
our God is the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so
that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the
comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NASB) 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our
affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in [a]any affliction with the comfort with which
we ourselves are comforted by God.”
We see here
that the Lord will comfort us, and that is what we need. Once we are comforted
and pass through our problems, we will be able to help others. Next time
trouble knocks at your door, send Jesus to answer it!
